Description

Experience it yourself in Elounda, few minutes' drive from the heart of the scenic fishing village of Elounda or the crystal clear beaches of the East coast of Crete. Exclusive style, sophisticated architecture and enviable service may make it challenging for you to leave your comfort and experience all the island remains to offer. At the top of a hill, the villa is built in three levels sparing no luxury. On the outside, the crystal private pool is surrounded by a lush garden looking out to the view of the nearby luxury hotels and the Cretan sea, Mirabello bay and Spinalonga Island.

A series of tended terraces lead up the hilly landscape to the house and pool. The large pool is exclusive to Villa Glan Y Mor dwellers' pleasure. The poolside and garden offer spots both of cool shade and radiant light, as well as privacy and infinite view.

Facilities & Services

Light and views of green and blue enter through the villas windows. Glan Y mor is a 250 sq.m three level villa which is surrounded by a large 4 acres plot, spacious terraces and a wonderful, 40 sq.m swimming pool with a spellbinding views. The living and dining areas combine simplicity and sumptuousness. The villa provides 3 bedrooms and 1 apartment that can host from 1 to 10 guests making it the perfect place for luxury and thoroughly comfortable accommodation in Elounda Crete.

Check in after: 4:00 PM
Check out before: 11:00 AM

Area

A tourist resort of international repute at Eastern Crete, to the north of Agios Nikolaos, with a lacy coastline, leeward beaches, crystal-clear sea, a serene and stunning landscape. At a distance of 70 km from the Heraklion international airport, a bare 10 km north of Agios Nikolaos. Elounda is accessible by way of a winding road clung to the hillside, affording the opportunity of a dramatic view over the gulf of Mirabello and the bay of Korfos. Built at the southern shore of the inland bay by the same name. It is located 1 km west of the ancient city of Olous, whence it derives its name. It is an area favoured by the mythical personages of Minoan Crete and of illustrious historical personalities of our times.

Elounda: a place easy to speak about but defying description; a place one can savour through the senses and then. dream about.

Ancient Olous lies indeed at a very small distance from the modern town. The area has known organized settlements since the Minoan era. Olous was among the most important hundred cities of ancient Crete, boasting a population of over 30,000. The Olountian administrative system was a type of democracy called eunomia. Deities worshipped there were Zeus Tallaeus, Apollo and goddess Artemis Vritomartis, with a classical temple devoted to her. Olous had its own coins. Historian Nikos Svoronos identifies 11 different types; most of them carry a relief of Artemis Vritomartis on the front side and Zeus bearing an eagle, or a dolphin, or a star on the back side. The peak period of Olous was continued into the early Byzantine era, as witnessed by the Basilica of Poros with its beautiful mosaic, open to the public for visiting, as well as the Basilica of Kolokytha with its exquisite white marbles. The city and the surrounding area were sacked and abandoned in the 7th century because of the raids of Arabs throughout the Mediterranean.

At a distance of 2 nautical miles from Elounda lies the renowned "Island", Spinalonga, open to visitors, reachable by a short boat ride. Its ancient name was Calydon, but it was the Venetians who gave it its present name, meaning long spine. The small island has been keeping that name since then. The Venetians fortified it strongly in 1574 and built it in a stunning way, combining high architectural, structural and landscaping aesthetics, in a way that still keeps its beauty intact. The Ottomans took over the island in 1705, dwelled it and created a large urban area, whose remnants still survive. In 1905 the Greek state started using the island in 1905 as a lepers' colony, operative until 1957.

The visitor of Elounda can take pleasure in the sea, enjoying a swim at the crystal-clear waters of beaches at and near Elounda, awarded the Blue Flag of the European union year after year.

Right beside the picturesque port town, locally called Skhisma, lies the municipal beach. A large swimming area adequately organized and equipped, ideal for marine sports, with a number of tavernas and cafes next to it, attracting thousands of visitors every year. Roughly 800 m to the east of Skhisma lie the blue-flagged beaches Hiona and Poros. More beaches for good swimming lie further up: Dreros beach, lush in tamarisk trees, as well as the two sparkling white pebbled crystal blue beaches by the houses and taverns of Plaka and, finally, Aghia Marina, at the far edge of the settlement. Driving past the channel along a dirt road, you can reach the church of Agios Loukas (St Luke). If you park there and walk downhill, you will find yourselves right by the green-blue waters of Kolokytha beach.

Elounda now has 2,200 inhabitants split among its six settlements; most of them live at Skhsisma and occupy themselves with tourism as well as fishing.

The area today boasts prestigious hotel complexes, mostly high-class luxury hotels. They often figure in the top 100 list of hotels of the entire world, and have often had outstanding personalities of the international social, financial and political elite as guests.

The fame of Elounda has been significantly boosted by the shooting of the 1964 Walt Disney movie "The Moon-Spinners", which gave an initial impetus to a slow but secure flourishing of tourism in the area. The recent filming of the Greek top-grade TV series "The Island" at Elounda and Spinalonga, after Victoria Hislop's best-selling novel, made the area a household item and brought in thousands of tourists from all over.

Around

Sightseeing

Spinalonga

The island of Spinalonga (official name Kalidon) is located in the eastern part of Crete, near the town of Elounda. Harking back to the Venetian occupation, the name Spinalonga is Italian, meaning "long thorn".

History

In 1579, the Venetians built a fortress on Spinalonga over the ruins of an acropolis. They kept control of the island until the Ottoman Empire took possession of it in 1715.

The island is notable for being one of the last active leper colonies in Europe, being used in this manner from 1903 until 1957. The last inhabitant, a priest, left in 1962. This was to maintain the religious tradition of the Greek Orthodox church, in which a buried person has to be commemorated 40

days, 6 months, 1, 3 and 5 years after their death.

There are two entrances to Spinalonga, one being the lepers' entrance, a tunnel known as Dante's Gate. This was so named because the patients did not know what was going to happen to them once they arrived. However, once on the island they received food, water, medical attention and social security payments. Previously, such amenities had been unavailable to Crete's leprosy patients, as they mostly lived in the area's caves, away from civilization, eating scraps left over by the wolves who shared their caves.

Spinalonga Today

Today, the unoccupied island is one of the main tourist attractions in Crete. In addition to the abandoned leper colony and the fortress, Spinalonga is known for its small pebble beaches. The island can easily be accessed from Elounda and Agios Nikolaos. Tourist boats depart from both towns on a daily basis. There is no accommodation on Spinalonga, meaning all tours last only a few hours. Boat trips from Elounda take approximately fifteen minutes while trips departing Agios Nikolaos can take upwards of one hour.

The book "The Island" by Victoria Hislop is set on Spinalonga and shares the fictional story of a family's ties to the leper colony

Ancient Olous

Olous or Olus is an ancient, sunken city situated at the present day town of Elounda.

This place was settled in an organized fashion from Minoan times. Olous was one of the most important of the hundreds of cities of ancient Crete with more than 30,000 inhabitants. It was located on the Isthmus where the island of Hersonissus, opposite, unites with the main land mass of Crete. During ancient times, the isthmus was wider and at a higher level. It was cut off during 1897-98 by the French during their command of Mirambello, shortly before Crete became self governed. The governmental system, or rules of law, of Olous, was a type of democracy. Here they worshiped the gods Tallaios, Zeus, Apollo and Vristomartis, the latter to whom a temple was dedicated. To honor them, they used to do the "talladutes" games in the nude, and also the "vristmatia" games. They also worshipped Hesculapius who had saved the town from an unknown disease that had plagued the Oloudians.

According to the narrations of various travelers of ancient times, we learn that the inhabitants had a social and professional level of development. From inscriptions that have been found, it is suggested that they were engaged in trade, with maritime affairs and in crushing shells to make colours and paints. They were also involved in the mining of whetting stones.

Olous disappeared either because of a landslide or as a result of the large earthquake of 780 A.D. Many ancient artifacts and inscriptions have been discovered from here, most of which are on display in the archaeological museum of Aghios Nikolaos, or at The Louvre.

Olous used to have its own currency. Sborous accounts for eleven different types of coins, most of them depicting Vritomaris Artemis on the one side, and Zeus as an eagle, dolphin or star on the other.

The prosperity of Olounda continued on until the first Byzantine period. This fact is revealed by the church at Poros, with its great mosaic, which can be visited today, and by the church of Kolokytha with its beautiful white marble.

At Leroklis, (the Book of Sinekdinos), you can find Olous under the name of Aligos. Darkness, however, shrouds the following years between the ninth and thirteenth centuries.

Lake Voulismeni

Lake Voulismeni is a former sweetwater lake, later connected to the sea, located at the centre of the town of Agios Nikolaos. It has a circular shape of a diameter of 137 m and depth 64 m. The locals refer to it as just "the lake". The lake connects to the harbour of the town by a channel dug in 1870. A panoramic view of the lake can be seen from a small park situated above it.

According to legend, the goddess Athena and Artemis bathed in it. Every year at midnight turning to Orthodox Christian Easter day, the majority of the population of the town gathers around the lake to celebrate with fireworks, and firecrackers thrown by the people attending that highlight event.

It was reported that the German army during their withdrawal from the area at WW2, disposed parts of their weaponry and/or vehicles into the deep lake.

A local urban legend has it that the lake is bottomless. Based primarily on locals noticing disturbances at the surface of the water during the Santorini earthquake of 1956, many assume a possible geological relation of the two locations.

Panagia Kera

The most popular Byzantine monument in Crete (13th- 14th A.D.), it is located in Logari, one kilometre east of Kritsa. This triple-nave Byzantine church is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, to Saint Anthony and Saint Anna. It is adorned with superb wall paintings on particular themes like the representation of Saint Anna, other icons of the saints, and the fourteen scenes depicting the secret life of the Virgin Mary.

Characteristic of all the wall paintings is their vividness, expressiveness and aesthetic perfection. Their existence had been hidden for hundreds of years by earlier Christians to avoid their destruction by the Turkish occupiers. It also has three aisles and a dome construction.

Each aisle contains paintings from a different period, representing a different religious theme. The central aisle, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin, contains the oldest paintings which reflect a mixture of styles. The other two aisles were added on in later periods. The south aisle has the best-preserved paintings. In contrast to the more stylized paintings of the period, these paintings display a tenderness and humanity in their rendering of the story of Anna, the Virgin Mary's mother. The north aisle is dedicated to St. Anthony and has pictures representing the Second Coming. Although the Venetians occupied Crete during the period, they allowed the Cretans to decorate their churches as they desired. The rare fresco techniques used and the subject matters make the Panagia Kera particularly interesting to visit.

Beaches

Magnificent beaches can be found on the coasts of the municipality of Aghios Nikolaos, most of them awarded the Blue Flag Status.

The coasts are full of enchanting coves and idyllic beaches with crystalline waters.

Here are some of those little paradises:

Elounda Beaches

Elounda Public Beach Blue Flag Awarded

Location: just next to the port of Elounda

Description: It is a fully organized facility, ideal for water sports, with restaurants and cafes nearby, where thousands of visitors gather every year.

Nearest village: Elounda

Plaka Blue Flag Awarded

Location: 7km from Elounda

Description: pebble beache with pristine waters, uncrowded near the good quality fish restaurants of Plaka, with amazing view to Spinalonga.

Nearest village: Plaka

Aghios Nikolaos Beaches

Kitroplatia Blue Flag Awarded

Location: In the town of Agios Nikolaos

Description: A wonderful sandy beach in the center of town, surrounded by restaurants and hotels.

Nearest village: Agios Nikolaos

Beach EOT Blue Flag Awarded

Location: In the town of Agios Nikolaos Description: A pristine sandy beach with shallow water fully serviced and has all the amenities and facilities for enjoyable bathing and water sports.Also has the only mini-golf course in town, food services, snooker, ping-pong, a nearby football pitch and basketball court, an athletics course and a competition-sized swimming pool.

Nearest village: Agios Nikolaos

Ammos Blue Flag Awarded

Location: In the town of Agios Nikolaos

Description: A wonderful sandy beach in the center of town, also close to the central shopping area.Nearest village: Agios Nikolaos

Ammoudi Blue Flag Awarded

Location: In the town of Agios Nikolaos

Description: A small sandy and deep water beach, fully organized, with sports facilities and food services.

Nearest village: Agios Nikolaos

Havania Blue Flag Awarded

Location: 2km outside of Agios Nikolaos, along the beach road to Elounda

Location: 2km outside of Agios Nikolaos, along the road to Kalo Chorio

Description: One of the most significant seaside resorts in the area. The entire area is wooded with eucalyptus trees, reeds and rushes which grow in the source waters of the fresh water river which runs into the sea. The endless sandy beach of Almyros is magical and offers the visitor all the comforts and facilities expected of a fully organized beach resort.

Nearest village: Agios Nikolaos

Ammoudara Blue Flag Awarded

Location: 3km outside of Agios Nikolaos, along the road to Kalo Chorio

Description: A small well-organized sandy beach, it is ideal for diving and water sports, and located next to restaurants and shops.

Nearest village: Agios Nikolaos

Kalo Chorio Beaches

Voulisma Blue Flag Awarded

Location: just outside of Kalo Chorio

Description: This is the largest well-organized municipal beach of Kalo Chorio. Its immense and extremely clean sandy beach is ideal for relaxing and having fun in the sand. Surrounded by tavernas, cafes and supermarkets at a short distance, it gathers thousands of visitors every year. It is an ideal place for sea-sports and beach fun.

GAIA was the primeval divinity of earth, one of the primal elements who first emerged at the dawn of creation, along with air, sea and sky. She was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods were descended from her union with Ouranos (the sky), the sea-gods from her union with the sea, the Gigantes from her mating with Tartaros and mortal creatures were sprung or born from her earthy flesh.

Book with Confidence

Trust, Security, Reliability

There is a two payment installments: 30% once a booking is confirmed, payoff 30 days prior arrival. The guest pays either by Credit Card or PayPal. In case of a cancelation, Cretico will refund the guest, according to the cancelation policy selected by the villa's owner.

Cretico P.C. is based in Chania of Crete and its a licensed local agent certified by the Greek National Tourist Organization.

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